Part 10 (2/2)
I was delighted with my first view of Jeddah. It is the most _bizarre_ and fascinating town. It looks as if it were an ancient model carved in old ivory, so white and fanciful are the houses, with here and there a minaret. It was doubly interesting to me, because Richard came here by land from his famous pilgrimage to Mecca. Mecca lies in a valley between two distant ranges of mountains. My impression of Jeddah will always be that of an ivory town embedded in golden sand.
We anch.o.r.ed at Jeddah for eight days, which time we spent at the British Consulate on a visit. The Consulate was the best house in all Jeddah, close to the sea, with a staircase so steep that it was like ascending the Pyramids. I called it the Eagle's Nest, because of the good air and view. It was a sort of bachelors' establishment; for in addition to the Consul and Vice-Consul and others, there were five bachelors who resided in the building, whom I used to call the ”Wreckers,” because they were always looking out for s.h.i.+ps with a telescope. They kept a pack of bull- terriers, donkeys, ponies, gazelles, rabbits, pigeons; in fact a regular menagerie. They combined Eastern and European comfort, and had the usual establishment of dragomans, kawwa.s.ses, and servants of all sizes, shapes, and colour. I was the only lady in the house, but we were nevertheless a very jolly party.
Our first excursion was to Eve's Tomb, as it is called, a large curious building in a s.p.a.cious enclosure. Two or three holy people are buried here, and the place commands a lovely view of the distant mountains, beyond which lies Mecca.
The inhabitants of Jeddah are very interesting in many ways. There are some two hundred nautch-girls there; but they are forbidden to dance before men, though I have heard that the law can be evaded on occasions.
In the plains there are two different types of Arabs: the, Bedawin, and the ”settled men.” The latter are a fine, strong, healthy race, though very wild and savage. We used frequently to ride out into the desert and make excursions. I would have given anything to have gone to Mecca. It was hard to be so near, and yet to have to turn round and come back.
There was a rumour that two Englishmen had gone up to Mecca for a lark, and had been killed. This was not true. But all the same Mecca was not safe for a European woman, and it was not the time to show my blue eyes and broken Arabic on holy ground. I therefore used to console myself by returning from our expeditions in the desert through the Mecca Gate of Jeddah, and then riding through the bazars, half dark and half lit, to see the pilgrims' camels. The bazars literally swarmed with a picturesque and variegated mob, hailing from all lands, and of every race and tongue. We were not interfered with in any way; though had it been 1853, the year when Richard went to Mecca, to have taken these rides in the desert, and to have walked through the Mecca Gate, would most certainly have cost us our lives. I also saw the khan where Richard lived as one of these pilgrims in 1853, and the minaret which he sketched in his book on Mecca. While we were at Jeddah the Governor and all those who knew the story of his pilgrimage to Mecca called on us, and were very civil.
Our days at Jeddah were very pleasant ones. In the evening we used to sit outside the Consulate, and have some sherry and a cigarette, and play with the dogs. One evening Richard came in and discovered me anxiously nursing what I thought was a dying negro. He was very angry, for he found him to be only drunk, and there was a great shout of merriment among all our colony in the Consulate--”my boys,” as I used to call them--when the truth came out. These terrible boys teased the negro by putting snuff up his nose. They were awful boys, but such fun. They were always up to all sorts of tricks. When the food was bad, they used to call the cook in, and make him eat it. ”What's this?” they would say. ”No! no! Ma.s.sa; me lose caste.” ”Hold your tongue, you d.a.m.ned scoundrel! Eat it directly.” One day it was seven big _smoked_ onions which the cook had to consume. I am bound to say that it had a good effect upon him, for the table was certainly excellent after this. I wish we could follow some such plan in England with our cooks. Even more did I wish we could do so at Trieste. I thought the dogs were worse than the boys. There were about ten bull-dogs in the house.
They used to worry everything they saw, and sent every pariah flying out of the bazars. Since I left Jeddah I heard that the natives had poisoned all these dogs, which I really think served the boys right, but not the dogs. I remember too, on one or two occasions, when we were riding out Meccawards, my horse was so thin and the girths so large that my saddle came round with me, and I had a spill on the sand, which greatly delighted the boys, but did not hurt me.
I was so sorry to part with them all; we were good friends together.
But after eight exceedingly pleasant days at Jeddah we received notice to embark, and we had to say good-bye and go on board the _Calypso_.
The sea was very rough, and I sat on a chair lashed to the deck. The _Calypso_ was bound for Bombay, and had taken on board at Jeddah and stowed away some eight hundred pilgrims, who were returning to India from Mecca. They were packed like cattle, and as the weather was very rough the poor pilgrims suffered terribly. The waves were higher than the s.h.i.+p. I crawled about as well as I could, and tried to help the pilgrims a little. The second day one of them died, and was buried at sunset. I shall never forget that funeral at sea. They washed the body, and then put a strip of white stuff round the loins, and a bit of money to show that he is not dest.i.tute when he arrives in the next world. Then they tied him up in a sheet, and with his head and feet tied he looked just like a big white cracker. He was then laid upon a shutter with a five- pound bar of iron bound to his feet, and after a short Arabic prayer they took him to the side and hurled him over. There was no mourning or wailing among the pilgrims. On the contrary, they all seemed most cheerful over this function; and of course, according to their way of thinking, a man would be glad to die, as he went straight to heaven.
But I am bound to say that it had a most depressing effect upon me, for we had twenty-three funerals in twelve days. They seemed to take it very much as a matter of course; but I kept saying to myself, ”That poor Indian and I might both be lying dead to-day. There would be a little more ceremony over me, and (not of course including my husband) my death would cast a gloom over the dinner-table possibly a couple of days. Once we were shunted down the s.h.i.+p's side, the sharks would eat us both, and perhaps like me a little better, as I am fat and well fed, and do not smell of cocoa-nut oil; and then we would both stand before the throne of G.o.d to be judged--he with his poverty, hards.h.i.+ps, sufferings, pilgrimage, and harmless life, and I with all my faults, my happy life, my luxuries, and the little wee bit of good I have ever done or ever thought, to obtain mercy with; only equal that our Saviour died for us both.”
I can hardly express what I suffered during the fortnight's voyage on board the pilgrim-s.h.i.+p. It was an experience which I would never repeat again. Imagine eight hundred Moslems, ranging in point of colour through every shade from lemon or _cafe au lait_ to black as ebony; races from every part of the world, covering every square inch of deck, and every part of the hold fore and aft, packed liked sardines, men, women, and babies, reeking of cocoa-nut oil. It was a voyage of horror. I shall never forget their unwashed bodies, their sea-sickness, their sores, the dead and the dying, their rags, and last, but not least, their cookery.
Except to cook or fetch water or kneel in prayer, none of them moved out of the small s.p.a.ce or position which they a.s.sumed at the beginning of the voyage. Those who died did not die of disease so much as of privation and fatigue, hunger, thirst, and opium. They died of vermin and misery. I shall never forget the expression of dumb, mute, patient pain which most of them wore. I cannot eat my dinner if I see a dog looking wistfully at it. I therefore spent the whole day staggering about our rolling s.h.i.+p with sherbet and food and medicines, treating dysentery and fever. During my short s.n.a.t.c.hes of sleep I dreamt of these horrors too. But it was terribly disheartening work, owing to their fanaticism. Many of them listened to me with more faith about food and medicines because I knew something of the Koran, and could recite their Bismillah and their call to prayer.
At last we arrived at Aden, where a troop of Somali lads came on board, with their bawling voices and their necklaces and their mop-heads of mutton wool, now and then plastered with lime. They sell water, firewood, fowls, eggs, and so forth. We landed at Aden for a few hours.
It is a wild, desolate spot; the dark basalt mountains give it a sombre look. Richard and I spent some hours with the wife of the Governor, or Station Commandant, at her house. It was terribly hot. I think it was Aden where the sailors reappeared who had died and gone to a certain fiery place; and on being asked why they came back, they replied that they had caught cold, and had got leave to come home and fetch their blankets!
We returned at half-past four in the afternoon to our s.h.i.+p and the pilgrims. The weather that night became very rough, and during the night a Bengali fell overboard. His companion, who witnessed the accident, said nothing; and on being asked later where he was, replied casually, ”I saw him fall overboard about three hours ago.” Such are the ways of these peculiar pilgrims. They have no more sympathy for one another than cattle. None would give a draught of water to the dying; and as for praying over the corpses before throwing them overboard, if they could help it they would scarcely take the trouble. It was too rough all the next day for reading or writing; and to add to our discomfort two Russian pa.s.sengers got drunk, and fought at the table, and called each other ”liar and coward,” ”sn.o.b and thief,” ”spy and menial,” and other choice epithets. However, their bark was worse than their bite, for they cooled down after they had succeeded in upsetting us all.
I staggered about on deck for the next few days as much as possible, and again did what I could for pilgrims; but our Russian pa.s.sengers aforesaid brought me word later that when those who must in any case have expired, died, the others said it was I who poisoned them; and that was all the thanks I got for my pains. If it were so, I wonder why did the whole s.h.i.+p run after me for help? One old man said, ”Come, O bountiful one, and sit a little amongst us and examine my wife, who has the itch, and give her something to cure it.” But I got wary, and I said, ”If I were to give her any medicine, she will presently die of weakness, and I shall be blamed for her death.” However, I did what I could. In some of the cases I asked my maid to come and help me; but she turned away in disgust, and said, ”No thank you; I have the nose of a princess, and cannot do such work.” And really it was horrible, for many came to me daily to wash, clean, anoint, and tie up their feet, which were covered with sores and worms.
On January 30 a north-east wind set in with violence. Every one was dreadfully sick. The s.h.i.+p danced like a cricket-ball, and the pilgrims howled with fright, and six died. The next day the weather cleared up, and it lasted fine until we reached Bombay. We had a delightful evening, with balmy air, crescent moon, and stars, and the Dalmatian sailors sang glees. That day another pilgrim died, and was robbed. His body was rifled of his bit of money as he lay dying, and they fought like cats before his eyes for the money he had been too avaricious to buy food with and keep himself alive.
At last, betimes, on February 2, the thirty-third day after leaving Trieste, a haze of hills arose from the eastward horizon, and we knew it to be India. Then the blue water waxed green, greenish, and brown, like to liquid mud. The gulls became tamer and more numerous, and jetsam and flotsam drifted past us. We sighted land very early. As we were running in the pilot came alongside, and called up to the captain, ”Have you any sickness on board?” The answer was, ”Yes.” ”Then,” said the pilot, ”run up the yellow flag. I will keep alongside in a boat, and you make for Butcher's Island” (a horrible quarantine station). I was standing on the bridge, and, seeing the yellow flag hoisted, and hearing the orders, felt convinced that there was a mistake. So I made a trumpet with my hands, and holloaed down to the pilot, ”Why have you run up that flag? We have got no disease.” ”Oh yes you have; either cholera or small-pox or yellow jack.” ”We have nothing of the sort,” I answered. ”Then why did the captain answer 'Yes'?” he replied. ”Because it is the only English word he knows,” I cried. Then he asked me for particulars, and said he would go off for the doctor, and we were to stand at a reasonable distance from Bombay. This took place in a s.p.a.cious bay, surrounded by mountains, a poor imitation of the Bay of Rio. Presently the doctor arrived.
Richard explained, and we were allowed to land. I shall never forget the thankfulness of the pilgrims, or the rush they made for the sh.o.r.e.
They swarmed like rats down the ropes, hardly waiting for the boats.
They gave Richard and me a sort of cheer, as they attributed their escape from quarantine to our intervention. Indeed, if we had been herded together a few more days, some disease must have broken out.
And thus we set foot in India.
CHAPTER XXII. INDIA. (1876).
Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, My heart, untravelled, fondly turns to thee.
GOLDSMITH.
On arriving at Bombay, we housed ourselves at Watson's Esplanade Hotel, a very large building. We went to see the sights of the town, and I was very much interested in all that I saw, though the populace struck me as being stupid and uninteresting, not like the Arabs at all. As I was new to India I was much struck by the cows with humps; by brown men with patches of mud on their foreheads, a stamp showing their Brahmin caste; by children, and big children too, with no garments except a string of silver bells; and by men lying in their palanquins, so like our hospital litter that I said, ”Dear me! The small-pox must be very bad, for I see some one being carried to the hospital every minute.” The picturesque trees, the coloured temples, and the Pa.r.s.ee palaces, garnished for weddings, also impressed themselves upon my mind.
<script>